Leading professional services firm PwC is forging new links with secondary school careers advisors in an effort to assist students at a crucial stage in their career decision making.
PwC hosted a group of 60 careers advisors, from a mix of private and state schools in the greater London region, in an effort to educate and inspire them about the career options the firm has to offer. These include PwC’s A Level, internship and graduate programmes.
This is the first event of its kind and is part of an initiative to forge better links with students at an earlier stage of their career to help them understand the options, and what they have to do to reach their chosen career.
A PwC poll of the careers advisors taken on the day found that:
100% believe A Level entry schemes that offer the chance to train for a professional qualification are just as valid as going to university to get a degree;
Only 10% think employers are doing enough to help students make informed decisions;
Since the announced rise in tuition fees, almost 90% said they are more actively promoting career options that don’t involve going to university;
Most said it is the school’s responsibility to inform students about their career options, followed by students themselves, then employers and lastly parents;
Three quarters said their school is currently geared up to encourage students to take the university route over going straight into work after A Levels.
Richard Irwin, PwC head of student recruitment, said:
“As students are making choices about their future we recognise that university may not be the right solution for everyone. We want to lead the way in helping students make informed decisions about their future and we’re working with students, careers advisors, universities and government to make that happen.
“Any employer that wants to ensure they’re recruiting the best student talent needs to have a range of choices available. For us, that means continuing with the great investment in graduate recruitment but also offering a compelling proposition for those students who want to join us straight from school or through our partnership degree programme. We have long-standing relationships with university students and careers advisors but as the higher education landscape changes we want students to be able to join us irrespective of the choices they make.”
